Oman likely to get first batch of COVID-19 vaccines soon

Muscat: Oman is likely to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the last week of December, an official at the Ministry of Health has said.

This comes after the UK government approved the use of vaccines made by Pfizer. British regulator MHRA approved the roll out for mass vaccinations which are likely to begin within the next few days. The UK has ordered 40 million doses already, of which 10 million will be available soon, reports said.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, a senior official at the Ministry of Health said, “There are two international organisations – EMA (European Medical Agency) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Because the EMA gave approval, the UK can use the vaccine. The Ministry of Health has made an evaluation of all the COVID vaccines available around the world. One of the conditions we have for Oman to use the vaccine is that it should receive approval from these international organisations.”

Explaining the conditions required for approval and use of the vaccine in Oman, he added: “Since Pfizer was founded in the USA, we require the United States FDA to give it approval. We are waiting for that approval to come. For us to use the vaccine, the company that made it must receive approval from the country in which it has been manufactured. Since it has already received approval from the EMA, I expect Pfizer will receive its approval during this week. When the FDA gives approval, then it can be registered for medical use in Oman. This is the procedure we follow in Oman. Once approval has come, then the Sultanate will make arrangements to import it into the country.”

“We studied the results of clinical trials of this vaccine and its effectiveness and safety, in terms of how many doses were required per person, the manufacturing technology used, because the manner in which the vaccine is made differs from one company to the next. We found that these parameters make up the minimum conditions under which we feel we can register and use the vaccine in Oman. Another condition we considered was which company would be able to give us the vaccine in a short span of time. We hope to receive the vaccine from Pfizer, as agreed upon, in the last quarter of 2020, in keeping with our country’s requirements,” he added.